Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the Government inherited an economy defined by a decade of stagnant wages, flatlining productivity, weak business investment, skills shortages and energy policy chaos; and

(2) notes that in the first ten months, the Government has:

(a) successfully argued for a minimum wage increase and passed legislation to get wages moving again;

(b) legislated cheaper child care and cheaper medicines;

(c) legislated emissions reductions targets and invested in cleaner and cheaper energy;

(d) invested in fee-free TAFE and more university places; and

(e) handed down a budget that delivered responsible cost of living relief and invested in the drivers of economic growth without adding to inflation; and

(3) further notes the next budget will build on these strong foundations with help for energy bills, higher wages for aged care workers and investments in economic growth.

Ten months ago the Australian people made an important decision. It wasn't a hard one, thanks to the member for Cook, but it was nevertheless a very, very important one. As we return to parliament for the final sitting week of the session and the last week before the budget, I think it's appropriate to reflect on the progress that the Albanese Labor government has made in repairing the Australian economy after almost a decade of failure at the hands of the former Liberal government. The nine years of Liberal economic mismanagement not only saw Australia squander economic opportunity but also left us with negative real wage growth; broken supply chains, which drive inflation; and a trillion dollars of debt without any economic dividend to show for it. That's a trillion dollars of debt—public debt, public money, taxpayer money—that those opposite blew on rorts and indulgences to serve their various mates in the small business sector and whatnot, perhaps their local communities, where they offered multiple car parks that weren't needed.

They weren't able to build any of them. The member opposite intervenes. These guys opposite, particularly the blokes, like to carry on about their business acumen, about what great businessmen they are. You all worked in your family businesses; your dads gave you your jobs. You never earned a job. You never did any hard work. And then finally, once they realised you were the dud son, they put you into parliament, where all good Liberals put the dud son.

Honourable members interjecting—

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

These guys have left us with a trillion dollars of debt and the worst decade for productivity in half a century. Despite occupying the opposition benches for 10 months, those opposite are still doing everything they can to protect their terrible and disgraceful legacy. After deliberately hiding power price increases from Australians before the election—a cover-up—they voted against direct energy bill relief for families and small businesses across our country. They voted against the National Reconstruction Fund, the fund that helps us rebuild our supply chains. They voted against the Housing Australia Future Fund, which ensures that we have a future supply of housing for vulnerable people in our community. And they voted, at every opportunity, against cleaner and cheaper energy. The coalition, whenever the opportunity has presented, has voted against Labor's efforts to clean up the mess.

But the Albanese Labor government are not letting the obstructionist vandalism of the Liberals stop us from getting on with the job. Whilst there are economic challenges thrust upon us from around the world, we remain optimistic about Australia's economic future. The first six months of the Albanese government saw the strongest jobs growth of any new government on record. The wage growth in that period was the strongest in nearly a decade. Unemployment is low and the prices of Australian exports are high. Amongst these positive signs, however, inflation remains the most significant challenge. Let's remember that this inflation challenge began under the Liberals. It is largely due to pressures beyond the control of any single Australian government: war in Europe, collapsing international supply chains, climate change and exacerbated weather disasters. But, through their mismanagement of the budget and the economy, the Liberals poured fuel on the inflation fire. Their irresponsible and profligate spending of Australian taxpayers' money supercharged the inflation problem and drove the Reserve Bank to begin dealing with the challenge through interest rate rises. Of course, those interest rate rises, as those opposite sometimes like to forget, began under their watch as well.

Australians understand that we, the Labor government, didn't create these challenges, but they elected us to take responsibility for addressing them, and we are. The Albanese government has a three-point plan for addressing the inflation challenge in our economy. It's about relief, repair and restraint. We're providing responsible cost-of-living relief where it delivers an economic dividend without adding to inflation, including through cheaper medicines, direct energy bill relief and cheaper child care for families, including the 7,000 in my electorate of Hawke. In the last 10 months we've seen that, with a focus on relief, repair and restraint, our government's plan to combat the economic challenges left behind by the Liberals opposite is working. We've got a long way to go, but the May budget will see the government build on this strong progress and further strengthen our position in the face of challenging economic circumstances.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That was an extraordinary attack on the small business sector of this nation and on the family business sector of this nation, which, regrettably, doesn't come as a surprise to those of us on this side of the House. It's good to have it very clearly on the record, particularly for future television commercials and the like, that the Labor Party believe that supporting the small business sector is some kind of rort and some kind of coalition support for our mates. It really says it all that the small business sector and the family business sector are regarded by the government as sectors, when they are supported by the coalition, where there is some kind of rort.

It's also interesting to hear that the government are now completely against all of the economic stimulus measures that we put in place through the COVID period. That is absolutely remarkable. Again, I appreciate having that on the record. It's good to know that the Labor Party are against JobKeeper. They're against supporting the small business sector and the family business sector—that's one great big 'rort'! It's excellent to have that on the record, because we look forward to making that point to the millions of small businesses and the millions of family businesses in the country. They have just been told by the speaker for the government that supporting them in tough economic times and tough health times was some kind of rort, and that the support and stimulus is not something that the now government, the Labor Party, supported and would have done at the time. I appreciate having that on the record.

Secondly, I say to the people of Australia that it is a difficult time for them, and we on this side understand it. This motion seems to be proud of the fact that real wages are going backwards. In fact, in his contribution, the previous speaker said that we've got record wages growth. Wages growth is at 3.3 per cent and inflation is at 7.8 per cent. The ABS says that, in fact, real wages are going backwards—that the cost of meeting household bills is growing at double the rate that your wages are. The poor average family in this country is going backwards, and the government is bragging about it and saying that they're proud of it. They're proud of the fact that real wages are going backwards. This motion even talks about wages growth as if they weren't aware of that fact. They aren't aware of the fact that to get real wages growth you have to compare wages growth to inflationary growth, and, when wages are growing at a lower amount than inflation, the real purchasing power of the average family is going backwards.

Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When did you guys work that out?

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Member for Hawke! This is not a two-way conversation.

James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That means families in this country at the moment are having to make really difficult decisions to reduce their household budget, because their wages are growing at a slower rate than the costs to their family are increasing. That is an indisputable reality. I'd be shocked if we now have a government that doesn't believe the Australian Bureau of Statistics anymore and rejects the indisputable reality of the situation of real wage decline in this economy under the Labor Party.

Mortgages are going up; power prices are going up. People are having to make difficult decisions, like maybe cancelling a family holiday they take every year because they just can't afford to do that right now, and they can't undertake that kind of discretionary expenditure because the rest of their costs are going up under Labor. In the budget that Labor handed down in October they confirmed electricity and gas prices were going up by 56 per cent and 42 per cent in those two cases. That makes life so much more difficult, not just for the people that are struggling now but for those that are going to have to meet these increased costs into the future. Those projections of electricity and gas prices going up in double digits haven't hit households yet. While their real wages are going backwards and inflation is currently at 7.8 per cent, you have utility costs going up at an even higher rate. That means for the average family in this country right now it is only going to get worse, and that is the reality of the statistics that the government themselves have put out in their own budget. So it is a very difficult time for families.

Cost of living is exploding in this country while real wages are going backwards. That is not something to celebrate or to come into this chamber to brag about. It is something to be ashamed of, and it is something that needs a plan to address. Rather than bragging about the deteriorating wealth of the average Australian, come up with a plan to do something about it. At least, when we get elected in a few years time, we'll have that plan, and the people of this country will again see their economic future is something to look forward to rather than something to be frightened of under this government.

Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's always quite exasperating when we debate issues on the economy to hear what those opposite have to say. I wish that they had discovered their concern for workers during the last decade instead of now, only after having been voted out of government, quite rightly, by the Australian people. I wish that we could really take this new-found concern seriously, because, frankly, I would like nothing more than for this country than to have a parliament in which all of its members think that workers should have decent wages to spend in their community and that we should initiate projects that will act as an economic stimulus, such as the National Reconstruction Fund. But unfortunately, I don't believe there is any genuine concern from those opposite about the plight facing these communities, because, if it were real, they would vote for the very sensible measures we have put forward in this parliament.

We know that the Labor government inherited an economy defined by a decade of stagnant wages, flatlining productivity, weak business investment, skills shortages and energy policy chaos. It is up to us, as a Labor government, to fix the mess that those opposite left behind. I remember very distinctly standing with the Prime Minister in Box Hill during the election campaign when he was asked whether he supported a wage increase for the lowest paid workers in our country, and he said absolutely—

Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One dollar.

Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One dollar an hour—and he said he absolutely supported that. Oh, was he mocked by those who are now, quite rightly, sitting in opposition! That they were absent when it came to backing workers is something that we on this side of the House will never forget; in fact, we'll remind people at every opportunity, because it's important that Australians know who actually has their back, especially at a time when so many households are doing it tough.

We've legislated for cheaper medicines. We will see cheaper child care come into effect from 1 July. In my own electorate, Chisholm, that is going to make a really profound contribution to relieving the cost-of-living pressures that families are experiencing. Over 7,200 families are set to benefit from those changes. In fact, Mr Deputy Speaker, that is one of the largest numbers of families in Victoria to benefit. I know my colleague here, the member for Lalor, also has a large number of families in her electorate who will benefit from this very significant policy.

We know that the cost of medicines and the cost of health care increased under the watch of those opposite. In my own electorate, the out-of-pocket costs just to see a GP have increased by 38 per cent over the last decade, which is absolutely shameful. Since we introduced cheaper medicines we've changed lives and improved household budgets. In my electorate in the first two months of this year alone 22,700 scripts were filled, which means our changes have saved people in my electorate over $256,000. That is significant. Instead of walking into this chamber and being disingenuous about what we believe, we are making sure that our actions speak louder than words ever could by implementing these important policies.

We're investing in more skills, with fee-free TAFE places and more university places. We're doing the things that need to be done to make sure our economy is strong again after the wreckage that we witnessed from those opposite for nine years.

It is not too late for this parliament to come together to stimulate the economy and improve our nation's wealth by supporting the National Reconstruction Fund. It is not too late for this parliament to do the right thing together, in a bipartisan fashion, and vote on more housing stock being built. I urge those opposite, if they really do believe the words that they say every time they walk into this chamber and debate the economy, to vote for these really sensible measures. That is how we can assess whether or not what they claim to be deeply felt concerns are just more lies that they're spinning to trick the Australian people.

Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Wow! Mr Deputy Speaker, have you ever known a government more full of itself than this Albanese one? Labor love to talk. They love the big talk and to talk about how great they are. I'm sure they've have all given themselves a slap on the back. 'What a great 10 months it's been under Labor,' they say. But Australians know it hasn't been a great 10 months. It hasn't even been an average 10 months, Mr Deputy Speaker. It's actually been a train wreck. We've now seen nine interest rate increases in a row. We've watched electricity and gas prices skyrocket. We've watched Australians across our great nation struggle to keep a roof over their head and to feed their families. It has been 10 months of watching Labor and their union mates ruin the economy.

I know I've got only five minutes to speak, but there is so much misinformation in this motion that I have to laugh. Let's start with the claim that they handed down a budget that 'delivered cost-of-living relief'. That is clearly misleading this chamber, because that is one big, fat Labor lie, if I've ever heard one from those opposite. What cost-of-living relief? You've delivered nothing for Australian families but more and more hardship. Families are struggling. They're trying to decide if they heat or if they eat. Small businesses are struggling to stay afloat. Claims from this government that they're delivering cost-of-living relief are just false.

While we're talking about misleading this chamber, can the member for Hawke tell families in his electorate that their electricity prices will come down by $275? Can Labor promise families that their energy prices will come down? Oh wait, they did that—97 times. Yet, here we are, 10 months later and nothing—no plans to make your electricity prices cheaper. It's another Labor lie and another broken promise from the Albanese government.

They've got a few of those broken promises. They promised cheaper mortgages, no changes to super and lower inflation. There's silence from the other side; they know it is all true. They promised no changes to franking credits, no changes to industry-wide bargaining, no increase to taxes, increases to real wages—the list goes on. It's more Labor lies and broken promises.

Then they promised cheaper child care. I don't know if the member for Hawke reads the news, but the cost of early learning has already increased on your watch. The latest CPI data—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Again, they are arguing—arguing with the fact that the latest CPI data shows costs increased by a whopping 4.5 per cent in December 2022. That's the largest increase outside the COVID measures since 2007. It's expected, given the last time Labor was in government fees skyrocketed by 53 per cent in just three years. The only thing that will happen on 1 July is further burnout for educators, higher fees and more families struggling to find a place for their children. For some families in regional, rural and remote Australia, living in a thin market or a childcare desert, nothing will change from 1 July, because they still won't be able to access care and this government has no plans to fix that. There's $4.7 billion, and not $1 will go to delivering more access for families.

In contrast, the coalition has a strong record when it comes to delivering for Australian families. We doubled our investment in ECCE and locked in ongoing preschool funding. That was the coalition government. We increased access for more than 280,000 children, brought costs down and increased women's workforce participation.

But that's not all we did in government; we protected our country and economy during COVID, growing our economy and maintaining our AAA credit rating. Unemployment fell to 3.9 per cent, its lowest level in 48 years, in April 2022. We reduced the tax rate for small businesses 25 per cent, the lowest rate in 50 years. We signed agreements with Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Peru and many more countries to improve trade opportunities for Australian exporters. We doubled hospital funding to $27.2 billion, listed more than 2,900 medicines on the PBS, delivered telehealth and improved access to private health and Medicare. We more than doubled school funding to $25 billion. That's the coalition record. (Time expired)

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I just remind the members, particularly the member for Barker and the member for Hawke, that this is not a two-way conversation. People are entitled to be heard in silence.

Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a pleasure to rise on the motion from my friend the member for Hawke about the Albanese government's economic plans for this country. In 2023, we should be optimistic about the future but realistic about the challenges coming at us from around the world. This chamber has been talking about this for 10 months. We have a lot going for us. We have low unemployment and the beginnings of wages growth. We have high prices for the things we sell to the world.

There is no denying the fact that the cost of living and inflation are a challenge, but when the Albanese Labor government sees a challenge it sees an opportunity. We have already completed the first budget under the Albanese Labor government and we've seen stronger jobs growth than any other new government on record. Wages growth in our first six months was the strongest in nearly a decade.

It is a pleasure to hear the member for Sturt suddenly notice that there has been a problem with wages growth. He might also like to note that these problems were baked in for 10 years under a Liberal and National government. It was fascinating to hear the member for Moncrieff. Admittedly the member for Moncrieff wasn't part of the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government and so missed the 2014 budget. But in my electorate we wonder how a Labor government can take office, show restraint in its first budget, and plan for more restraint, and see 99 per cent of revenue upgrades returned to the budget over the next two years while, under those opposite, just 40 per cent was returned of any savings we made. So they left us with $1 trillion of debt, most of which was accrued before the pandemic, and then, rather than address that issue, they went on a spending spree. People in my electorate wonder what it was they spent money on. We all know where they lifted money from, but what did they spend it on?

They spent it on, as the member for Hawke rightly pointed out, car parks for train stations that don't exist. They made commitments for car parks in electorates that didn't need car parks at train stations and that couldn't be built and didn't get built. They made commitments around the country but ignored electorates like mine and ignored the people in my electorate and their needs. The member for Sturt is decrying the fact that people may not be able to go on a holiday. Well, Member for Sturt, in my electorate people might lose their houses. I think that's just about the difference between those opposite and this government.

We are clearly focused on budget repair, on relief for households and on spending restraint. Australians understand—and in my electorate they clearly understand—that we didn't create these challenges, but they have elected us to take responsibility for addressing them, and we are.

Our economic plan is a direct and deliberate response to the challenges facing the economy, including the rising cost of living. One of the very first acts of the Albanese government was to successfully argue for the minimum wage to keep pace with inflation, an outcome which helped around 2.7 million Australians. That's 2.7 million Australians who were assisted by our first act. Our budget focused on responsible cost-of-living relief that didn't put extra pressure on inflation, and that is the most important thing—through cheaper child care, expanding Paid Parental Leave, cheaper medicines, more affordable housing and getting wages moving again. In my electorate, people know that the ratings agencies have affirmed our AAA credit rating and pointed to the fact that our budget didn't add to inflation as a factor in their decisions. This is critical. I am really looking forward to Labor's next budget because I have absolute faith that that theme around relief, repair and restraint will continue.

It's important to note that, with all of this in front of us, those opposite cannot bring themselves to walk in here and vote yes on any of it. They decry the situation for people in electorates like mine but refuse to come in here and support them with their votes. They refuse to support members of my community, the community the member for Hawke represents, the people of Chisholm or the people in their own electorates. Instead, this opposition has now labelled itself. We have seen their behaviour. This opposition behaves like a junkyard dog looking for a fight while the people of this country need it to come in here and support our government getting things done.

Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion put by the member for Hawke. I do not support the motion moved by the member for Hawke, but I do commend him for having the courage to bring to this place's attention the dismal record of his government to date on the economy. As the Prime Minister has recently reminded us, it has now been 10 months since the Albanese government came to power. In the lead-up to the election in May last year, Labor made many promises. The Prime Minister recently said that Australia has had 'a very good 10 months'. I am yet to meet any Australian who has said to me that the last 10 months have been good. I also note that, despite us asking the Prime Minister these questions, the Prime Minister and indeed his whole team have been unable to find one single Australian who has come forward to say that they have had a very good 10 months.

To that end, in the last 10 months, we've seen nine consecutive interest rate rises under this government—a rate of rises that we have not seen in 30 years. The cash rate now sits at 3.6 per cent. Inflation has reached levels not seen since 1990 and, as at the end of December, the inflation rate was sitting at 7.8 per cent. Power prices have continued to rise under this government, not fall. We've had increased taxes, and charities are now reporting seeing people on double incomes asking for help to put food on the table. People are being forced to take on a second job to pay the bills. This is of course eating into their family time and recreation time. A record number of Australians are turning to Lifeline, and this has been recently reported by Lifeline. The average Australian mortgage holder is now paying close to $2,000 per month for that mortgage. They're paying an extra $20,000 per year.

In my electorate of Hughes, over 30 per cent of the electorate are mortgage holders and, on average, they are now spending more than $1,700 a month on their mortgage than they were before this government came to power. I am yet to hear any Australian say—and particularly nobody from my electorate has said this to me—that they have had a good 10 months.

If we look at some of the promises that were made by Labor leading up to the election, both the Prime Minister and the Treasurer made many, many promises. There was a promise to cut electricity bills by $275. That promise has been broken. There was a promise of cheaper mortgages. That promise has been broken. There were promises of no changes to super. Those promises have been broken. There were promises of lower inflation—again, broken promises. There was a promise of, 'We're not touching your franking credits.' That promise has been broken. Franking credits are important. Franking credits were first brought in by a Labor government. At the time, Paul Keating said, 'This is a double tax, and I am relieving Australians of this burden.' Now that is being reversed. We also had the promise that there would be no industry-wide bargaining. 'That's not part of our policy,' we were told. It is part of the policy. Now, after 10 months, it is time that the Labor government stopped rewarding union mates and instead focused on the real issues in the economy.

We look first of all at electricity. On 97 separate occasions before the election, the Prime Minister said electricity prices would decrease by $275 under a government that he would lead. The opposite has occurred. Electricity prices continue to increase. In my home state of New South Wales, we are now $564 a year on average worse off than we were under the former coalition government. This has had a massive impact on more than 280,000 small businesses. I was speaking on the weekend to one of my local café owners. He's now paying $50,000 a year on electricity. This is unsustainable.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allocated for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.